"Roaring 1920s Live" -
with a new spin in 2011An original play, featuring members of the BTVB and area theater groups. Shows are held at the Speakeasy, an authentic, preserved underground hot spot in town during the 1920s. Our production is a swingin’ great time that features the history of the speakeasy when it was a notable hangout for Chicago gangsters who traveled by train back and forth to New York. You'll hear stories of one of America's most notorious gangsters, Al Capone, and engage in period dancing and music. Also, see one of the remaining city tunnel passages.
Our Bureau offers a scheduled tour of the speakeasy with the story, or two theater productions. One production is a thirty minute story that is scheduled Monday thru Friday after 4:30 p.m. or on Saturdays between the hours of 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. The other production is a little over an hour long, done as a Dinner Theatre or for other special occassions.
Both productions are a combination of history, singing, dancing, laughter, and a fun time for all. A group of at least (35) thirty-five people is required for both of the two productions.
The productions are performed by members of the Bucyrus Little Theatre and the BTVB. The Little Theatre also presents a variety of other plays at their own theatre during the year that groups may enjoy attending.
A Short History of The Speakeasy
The building, built by Henry N. Oberlander in 1916, was originally called the Highway Hotel. The structure still has its 36” walls built with a layer of regular bricks and then a decorative layer of brick. The underground gathering area was called the Highway Grill at that time.
Then in the late 1930’s it was renamed the Rathskellar. The bricks and most of the wood are still original. The tables are also the originals that were found stacked in a pile in a corner. The seats are also still made of the original boards. The curtain hanging by the outside entrance is new, but there was a curtain that hung in this location used to hide the liquor bottles, etc. during prohibition. The original hand-operated elevator is also still evident in this building. During your visit to the speakeasy you can also see the underground tunnel that connected the room to the far South end of town, used for emergency quick get-aways.
For sixty years after the speakeasy closed, the room was used for storage. Then in the fall of 2002, it was opened so the public could see where many of the gangsters, including Al Capone, stopped when traveling by train from Chicago to New York. When Al Capone came to town via the railroad, there was a siding where the current Amvets Building is now located, where the train parked Mr. Capone’s private train car during his stay in Bucyrus.
Even today there are individuals that had connections to this shady underground business. One lady called after reading about the renovations and said that her husband was actually Capone’s private driver while he was in town. Another local resident said that she went to work there when she graduated from high school in 1934.
